Friday, September 26, 2008

So is John Althouse Cohen, and it's hard to argue with this observation:

"I've got a bracelet." "I've got a bracelet too!" Are these serious adults running for president, or is this summer camp?

Yeah, McCain and Obama aren't bad guys, but it's hard to believe that these two are the best that a country of 300 million can produce.

I suppose John didn't like the way the debate was going and so is trivializing it generally. It's unfortunately true that when people are gone what you have is momentos and the ideals of their lives. I suppose he has honored dead, and I would allow it to the mother of this soldier and allow it to us to honor his existential choice.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

It seems the economy, anyway the investment bankers, need your spare change to get to their next stop. We have a contract economy except when they need your spare change. I kind of thought the AIG deal was fair, but I don't think we should be on the hook for anything that isn't immediately needed to prevent chaos or for which we get nothing. Schumer has a better idea.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

A great book on how the world got into WWI, The Pity of War. The Germans felt that their relative power vs. Russia was slipping so they needed to fight against the coalition before winning was out of reach. The French Russian coalition was buoyed up by the British who were afraid of it becoming a Teutonic Europe (against them). From my point of view (which includes seeing answers to several of the exercises in the back of the book of history as it were), a better policy for the Germans would have been to maintain their sting; yet appease the stronger combination powers one at at time. As and if their relative position declined, Britain would have supported them out of balance of power considerations. I was glad to see that Deutschebank directors were against the war. There was no need to go after Serbia officially. They could have sought out the murderers as the Israelis are reported to have done in Vengeance.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Today is perhaps the moment of truth for McCain's VP selection being Palin. She would formlly accept the nomination tonight. Bristol being pregnant is perhaps reflective of the task her mother set for her, abstinence, being a task too far, a task over which mother did not accept the independence of the daughter. David Brooks, NY Times, has perhaps a surprising insight into McCain's government view. He mentions the alternative pick of Robert Gates, the current Defense Secretary who has shown an ability which would be complimentary to McCain's. How it would fit administratively is less clear.